Housing for homeless college students to rise on city-owned Boyle Heights property

A Boyle Heights property near Third Street and Indiana Avenue will give way to housing for “homeless students engaged in post-secondary educational opportunities,” like college, Los Angeles City Councilmember Jose Huizar announced Tuesday. The number of units in the project was not included in the press release.

The land is located near East LA Community College, the Gold Line’s Indiana Station, and multiple bus lines. It is one of several city-owned sites LA is looking develop with affordable housing.

The housing will be developed by Jovenes, Inc., a nonprofit focused on battling youth homelessness, in partnership with Restore Neighborhoods LA. The team was the single bidder for the site.

There are more than enough students in LA who could benefit from a project like this. A study commissioned by the Los Angeles Community College District’s board of trustees recently found that one in five of the district’s 230,000 students are homeless. This year’s city-wide homeless count also found a 64 percent increase in youth homelessness.

Huizar has also proposed that the city transfer another property in the neighborhood, the Aliso Triangle, to Jovenes. The property is “surrounded by Jovenes’ headquarters and properties owned by Jovenes.” Once transferred to Jovenes, the property would help the organization expand their services and “allow a campus like environment among their properties.”